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European Healthcare Analysts Vosser and Gordon, along with U.S. and Specialty Pharmaceuticals Analyst Schott, discuss key takeaways from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Conference on an Analyst/Industry conference call to be held on October 10 at 10 am.

Roth Capital analyst Michael Higgins raised his price target for Nektar (NKTR) to $23 from $19 after the company and Bristol-Myers (BMY) announced a clinical collaboration to evaluate the combination of the latter's anti-PD-1 antibody, Opdivo, with NKTR-214. The analyst reiterates a Buy rating on Nektar's shares.

Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said Bristol-Myers' (BMY) Checkmate-026 data presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology meeting was disappointing, noting there was no signal of benefit on progression-free survival or overall survival and only "modest differentiation" on response rate in the 88 patients with PDL1 biomarker positivity greater than or equal to 50%. Meanwhile, Merck (MRK) presented "spectacular" data for Keytruda monotherapy at the meeting, said Fernandez, who expects Bristol shares to be down "significantly" today in light of the meeting presentations. The analyst, who still thinks Bristol has a significant opportunity to compete with Merck's Keytruda in the PDL1 high portion of the market, keeps an Outperform rating on Bristol shares, which are down nearly 6% in pre-market trading.

09/20/16

SBSH

09/20/16NO CHANGETarget $70SBSHBuy

Bristol-Myers price target lowered to $70 from $75 at Citi

In a research note titled "Brace Yourself. Attractive Valuation but No Near-Term Respite.," Citi analyst Andrew Baum lowered his price target for shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb to $70 from $75. The analyst lowered his earnings forecasts by up to 8% to reflect the "limited supportive data" in the non-small cell lung cancer indication. Baum keeps a Buy rating on the shares as he views the valuation as attractive. He points out, however, the near-term news-flow is likely to be negative.

09/27/16

PIPR

09/27/16NO CHANGETarget $62PIPRNeutral

Bristol-Myers price target lowered to $62 from $65 at Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Richard Purkiss lowered his price target for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) to $62 saying he sees the company ceding Opdivo's early-mover advantage in lung cancer to competitors. The analyst expects to see details from Roche's (RHHBY) positive OAK trial of Tecentriq vs. docetaxel in non-small cell lung cancer at the upcoming ESMO meeting. Purkiss also expects to see details from Merck's (MRK) positive KEYNOTE-024 trial of Keytruda. The analyst lowered his post-2016 Opdivo forecasts and reiterates a Neutral rating on Bristol shares.

MRKMerck

10/10/16

LEER

10/10/16NO CHANGELEERMarket Perform

Merck 'steals the show' at ESMO with Keytruda data, says Leerink

Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said Merck (MRK) stole the show at ESMO with its Keytruda data and he continues to think the company will dominate first line lung cancer treatment for years to come in patients with 50%+ PDL1 expression. Additionally, he expects Merck to gain additional traction in the overall market, noting that confirmation that Keytruda is benefiting patients when combined with Alimta/carboplatin with Alimta maintenance raises the possibility Merck could compete broadly in the overall non-squamous patient population. However, Fernandez keeps a Market Perform rating on Merck, as he thinks its current valuation largely reflects improved growth prospects through 2020.

10/10/16

BMOC

10/10/16NO CHANGEBMOC

Merck should strengthen leadership in first line NSCLC, says BMO Capital

BMO Capital analyst Alex Arfaei says that upcoming data should strengthen Merck's (MRK) lead in 1L NSCLC. The analyst adds that the data could support off-label use of Merck's Keytruda in additional 1L NSCLC patients, and he says that the data "should be negative" for Bristol-Myers' (BMY) Opdivo drug. Arfaei keeps an Outperform rating on Merck and a Market Perform rating on Bristol-Myers.

10/10/16

JMPS

10/10/16NO CHANGEJMPS

Incyte treatment looking 'promising,' says JMP Securities

After reviewing recent data, JMP Securities analyst Liisa Bayko says that the combination of Incyte's (INCY) Epacadostat plus Merck's (MRK) Keytruda is "emerging as a promising treatment, potentially even best in class." The analyst says that the progression free survival rate of the combination in melanoma patients "is emerging to be quite competitive," while the efficacy rate in other solid tumors "seemed encouraging." The analyst raised her price target on Incyte to $110 from $100 and keeps an Outperform rating on the stock.

BMO Capital analyst Alex Arfaei says that the positive data on Roche's (RHHBY) TECENTRIQ for second line NSCLC is negative for Bristol-Myers' (BMY) cancer drug, Opdivo. The analyst does not think that TECENTRIQ's results will be superior to that of Opdivo, but he believes that Roche's drug appears to have "a significant" benefit in PD-L1 positive patients." He predicts that Roche's drug could take "meaningful market share, particularly outside of the U.S." The analyst keeps a Market Perform rating on Bristol-Myers.

09/07/16

09/07/16NO CHANGE

BioLineRx partnering with Roche company in cancer therapy research

BioLineRx (BLRX) has entered into a collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche (RHHBY) Group, to support several Phase 1b studies investigating BioLineRx's BL-8040 in combination with Atezolizumab, Genentech's anti-PDL1 cancer immunotherapy, in multiple cancer indications. The Phase 1b studies will evaluate the clinical response, safety and tolerability of the combination of these therapies, as well as multiple pharmacodynamic parameters, in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Under the agreement, Genentech will sponsor and conduct several Phase 1b trials in multiple solid cancer indications. In addition, BioLineRx will sponsor and conduct a Phase 1b study in acute myeloid leukemia patients. The studies are designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of BL-8040 and Atezolizumab. Upon completion of the studies, both parties will have the option to expand the collaboration to include a pivotal registration study. Additional details of the collaboration were not disclosed.

09/12/16

JEFF

09/12/16NO CHANGETarget $57JEFFHold

Jefferies cuts Bristol-Myers price target, upgrades AstraZeneca

Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford lowered his price target for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) to $57 from $69 saying the stock is positioned for a "rough mid term ride." The analyst sees a "difficult catalyst" set for Bristol shares with "numerous" upcoming competitor read-outs in non-small cell lung cancer. The market could see worse than expected data from Bristol's CM-026 and CM-568 studies as well as better than expected data from AstraZeneca's (AZN) MYSTIC study and Roche's (RHHBY) Chemo-IO studies in the first half of 2017, Holford tells investors in a research note. He keeps a Hold rating on Bristol and upgraded this morning AstraZeneca to Buy from Hold. Holford prefers Astra for its immunology exposure.

AZNAstraZeneca

09/23/16

09/23/16INITIATION

On The Fly: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak initiated Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA), both with Overweight ratings. The analyst is bullish on the digital gaming shift away from "units sold" to a business model based on users, engagement, and digital monetization. He sees digital in-game offerings resulting in recurring and growth user bases, increased per-game engagement, and further monetization opportunities. 2. AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) both initiated with Overweight ratings by Piper Jaffray analyst Richard Purkiss. 3. Achillion (ACHN) initiated with an Outperform by Wedbush analyst Heather Behanna, who set a $13 price target on the shares. 4. Sysco (SYY) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays and $48 price target by analyst Karen Short. 5. Five Below (FIVE), Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Dollar General (DG) all initiated with Equal Weight ratings by Barclays analyst Karen Short. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Piper Jaffray analyst Steven Breazzano said the rucaparib response rates in platinum resistant and platinum refractory patients of 25% and 0%, respectively, reported by Clovis Oncology (CLVS) are lower than some may have been expecting and "seemingly negative on the surface." However, he continues to believe rucaparib will be approved in BRCA patients who have received 2+ lines of therapy, which is an earlier and broader patient population than assigned to competitor AstraZeneca's (AZN) Lynparza, he tells investors. The ultimate market potential and key to success is the maintenance setting, for which TESARO's (TSRO) niraparib is still best-positioned, adds Breazzano, who keeps a Neutral rating on Clovis shares.

09/13/16

EXAN

09/13/16DOWNGRADEEXANNeutral

AstraZeneca downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas